Electric feeler mechanism for looms



Mach 5, 1935. R; G. TURNER ELECTRIC FEELER MECHANISM-FOR LOOMS Filed Aug. `1.` 1955 Ev S III rf Patented Mar. 5, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 1,993,492 ELECTRIC .FEELER FOR Looms f v Y Richard Greenleaf Turner, Worcester, Mass., as-

Worcester, Massr," chusetts 'noi' to Crompto`& 'Kno'ves'ooin Works, a corporation "of Ill/lassa-v :Arpiieetien August .1, 19,3?, Serial-NQ-'Gtlt 13 claims.V (ci. 139-273) This is a continuation in part of my prior copending application lSerial, No. 653,642, and relatesto electrical weft detectors for looms. 1t is the general object of the invention to p ro- 5 vide mechanism of'l this type which shall avoid repeated contacts 'with the Weft and. at the same time retain positiveness of indication.

lnvthe aforesaid application I have shown a shuttle with an internal weft detector cooperating with a contacting plate normally held below contacting position in Vthe shuttle by presence of sufficient weft. Upon exhaustion of weft the contact plate risesV to indicating position Where it is preferably locked to resist pressnre of the contacts. It is an important` object of my presentnventien t0 prevdeeontaets which ,engage the plate when the latter is in indicating position.

When thecontacts are in the form of rolls it is desirable to prevent improper contact b etween them and the. 'plate if Sueent weft .is present. This may be accomplished by forming the rolls preferably with hubs of sufficient diameter to keep the contacting rims away from the depressed plate. This latter provision is rendered desirable by the fact that the contact' plate is at all times exposed and could therefore give an indication Whenever the rolls con; taoted with it, in this respect being different from those Aforms of contacts which are `carried `by pobhins and covered by the yarn which serves as insulating material.

.-The constant Wearing ofthe picker will or, .dinarily result in the shuttle being vboxed nearer eetmeter the .end of the ley. the effect of .which iS .t0 .Gerry the eenteet Vleletepout .of the range of the rolls. 1t is a further object of my invention to provide means for giving the rolls a plurality of positions depending upon the Wear- .ing 'O f the picker soy that proper registry may always be attained. The brushes which contact with the rolls may be of sufficient klength to cover all positions of the roll axis.

With theseA and other ob'ects in view which vvvill appear as the description proceeds, my' invention resides in the .combination and arrangenient of parts hereinafter Ytlesrbeol and set forth in the claims. 'n

In Ythe eecomrenvine drawing, .wherein e convenient .embodiment ef my invention is set roch. a y Fig, 1 is atop plan view of the plain Vend of a looxnlay having my invention applied thereto. Fe.. .2 AiS ,e detailed longitudinal. section/0n 15 line ,2-12 Vof rig. y1,

Eig. 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical section on line 3,-'3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is an enlargedtop plan vieW of certain of the structure shown in Fig. 1, and k Fig. 5 is a View similar to a; part of Eig. 2 `5 but With the Contact plate in non-indicating DQStQL Referring to the drawing,l I have shown a shuttle S such as shown in the aforesaid application having a split spindle 10 pivoted thereto es et lle detector .1ever12 is. mevebly .meente ed with respect to and supported by the spindle and has a detecting hump 13 normallyurged by a spring 14 to move through a slot 15 in vveft carrier C. The latter may be of any convenient form and has Wound thereon a mass of weft Whit/,h normally @Overs .the Slet. lend holds `the hump 13 and detecting lever in depressed nen-indicating position, .es Shawn in Fie- 5; The detector lever is providedwith a contactplate 1 6 movable therewith against which eternally peers a .leek ein 17 es shown in .Fie- 5. The upper surface of the 'shuttle may be provided with a groove 1S which is aligned lon"- eirtueirelly with the Contact pee. .25

When suiicient weft is present the plate 16 is held depressed with the pin 17 in its deflected viifitierl tendine' normally t0 move under e :vert .of the plate. When the weft is exhausted the hinnp 13 moves upwardly through slot 15 under action of spring 14v to the position shown in Fig. .2 thereby .raising .the plete sufficiently to permit ,the lock pin 17 tospring thereunder as shown in Fig. 2. Means not necessary to the present disclosure operate to move the pin 17 back to its .nenrleekins position Whenever the Spindle .is raised to receive afresh supply .of weft.

1t is to bel understood thaty so far as, the presentinyention is concerned' the shuttle set forth'is for' purposes of illustration only and I .do not' Wish to have the detector set forth in detail hereinate restricted in its use to the erteilte .ferm .0f shuttle vde.scribed- Fig. 1 shows the lay 20, layend 21, spindle 2.2, and 919.15.61'. 23 Dopued .195 picker .Stick .24- f1.5 A lshuttle bog iloor 2o* seeuredtothelay and .a saura@ time; .2.6 may .be-provided to push the shnttle against the back Wall 27 of the shuttle )9.0.x byzo'e .dVed .ff-0.1.11 Splg 28- A 00X top 29 has feet v30thronghn'\ v"nich Ysecuring bolts 31 extend into the lay and mayextend above the 90X @ser .t0 .template 'the es i The login parts proper dthus vfardescriloed may te Of the revel eenstructen, .the .bex ter 29.

tritt-ralf., loeirtaeied .Somewhat frem .usuel .5..5

constructions for the purpose of supporting cer tain of the detecting parts to be set forth in detail hereinafter.

In carrying my invention into eifect I form the top 29 with a relatively large opening 40 having front and rear walls 41 and 42, respectively. A collector brush 43 is secured as at 44 to the box top and is therefore electrically grounded thereto, while a second collector brush 45 is mounted on a block of insulating material 46 to have connection with an electric conductor 47, the block being held rigidly in place on the box top as by a screw 48.

Extending across the opening 40 and through both back and front walls is a stud 50 which may be of insulating material. This stud is mounted for limited vertical movement in elongated slots 51 and 52 which are in the walls 41 and 42, respectively. The stud is also provided with a head 53 too large to pass through .the opening 51, and a retaining clip 54, shown in Fig. 4 may be xed to the box top or in any other manner so as to align with the head 53 and prevent loss or misplacement of the stud. Mounted upon the stud are two roll contacts 60 and 6l each having a reduced hub 62 to have contact respectively, with the brushes 45 and 43. A washer of insulating material 63 is between the rolls, and that roll which corresponds to the insulated brush is further insulated from the frame by a second washer 64 interposed between it and the frame or wall 41, as shown in Fig. 1.

in operation the brushes, which are preferably resilient, together with the Weight of the stud 56 and parts supported thereby, tend to hold the rolls in low position which is determined by the bottoms of the slots 51 and 52. As the shuttle is boxed the narrow rims 65 enter the slot 18 of the shuttle and the reduced hubs 62 roll along the top 66 of the shuttle. Under these conditions, assuming that sufficient weft is present, the contact plate will be below the rims 65, the rims extending beyond the hubs insufciently vto reach the depressed plate. Under these conditions no electrical connection exists between the rolls.

When a depleted shuttle enters the box the plate 16 will be elevated and near enough to the top of the shuttle to be engaged by the rims 65. The two rolls will therefore be brought into electric contact with each other so that an electric current can pass from the conductor 47 out through a circuit not shown but which is ultimately grounded, so that a return can be effected by brush 43. Ihave shown no particular mechanism to be electromagnetically operated or controlled, inasmuch as the same forms no part of my present invention and any convenient contrivance of this type may be employed, such, for instance, as that shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 665,140. The form of detector set forth herein is shown in the last named application but not claimed specically therein.

As the shuttle moves under the rolls they will turn, either freely on the stud 50, or jointly therewith. In this respect I iind it desirable to have a slight amount of looseness in the t of the parts forming the detectors so that they may easily and freely assume their correct detecting and indicating positions.

On all detecting operations there is likely to be a vertical movement of the rolls due to and varying with the upward misplacement of the shuttle as it is boxed. The slots 51 and 52 are high enough to provide for any such vertical motion as may be permitted by the box top 29. The bottom of the slots will usually be so proportioned with respect to the top of a properly placed shuttle as to hold the hubs above the shuttle` rather than supported thereby. Under this rarrangement a properly boxed shuttle will not contact with the rolls, but this is not'an essential relation and I do not Wish to be confined to it. To this extent therefore it should be noted that the previously described operation of the rolls as the shuttle enters the box can be varied so as to avoid rotation of the rolls entirely when the shuttle is resting squarely on the bottom of the shuttle box.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the stud 50 is in the left hand part of the slot 40, but I may provide an additional set of vertical slots indicated at 'Yland 72 corresponding generally with slots 51 and 52 in the same walls, these additional slots being nearer the picker 23 so that when the latter becomes worn to such an extent as to permit deep boxing of the shuttle, the stud 50 and parts carried thereby can be moved to said additional slots to have the rolls more correctly placed with respect to the contact plate 16. The clip 54 is arranged for convenient removal to facilitate this alteration, and the brushes 43 and 45 are made sufficiently long to contact with the rolls when they are in any of their possible correct positions.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I hav provided a simple form of electric detector for shuttles operating with a plate arranged to have contact with the detectors when an indication of weft exhaustion is to be given. The detectors, shown as rolls herein, are mounted for free limited vertical motion, and the dwell of the shuttle in the box between picks is of sufficient duration to assure proper contact between the rolls and platewhen an indication is desired. An inspection of Fig. 2 will show that the rolls are so placed that they can never have Contact with the yarn or weft carried by the shuttle, inasmuch as the latter is brought to rest before the zone occupied by the weft can move under the rolls. The free rotation of the contacting elements assures long life of the cooperating parts of the detecting mechanism and also provides for the presentation of a large number of contact surfaces to the plate 16. As'the shuttle is picked out of the box its contactwith the rolls will cause the latter to rotate by varying amounts as to cause a fresh part of the roll to be in contacting position with respect to the plate on succeeding detecting beats of the lay.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not Wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

l. In a loom,a shuttle having a supply of weft, a pair of oppositely charged electric detector electrodes to be connected to effect a change in loom operation, and a shuttle carried contact member for the electrodes held out of contacting relation with the electrodes when sufcient weft is present and movable relatively to the shuttle upon exhaustion of weft to a position to electrically connect said electrodes, said contact member being the only current carrying part permanently connected to the shuttle.

2. In a loom, a shuttle carrying a mass of weft, a pair of oppositely charged electric detector electrodes to be connected to effect a change in loom operation, a shuttle carried contact member for the electrodes normally out of contacting relation with the latter when sufcient weft is present, and means operatively related to the contact member and under the control of the mass of weft and effective at Weit exhaustion to move said contact member to a position to electrically connect the electrodes by direct engagement therewith, the contact member being the only part permanently carried by the shuttle which conducts current.

3. In a loom, a shuttle, a pair of oppositely charged electric detector electrodes to be connected to effect a change in loom operation, a spindle therefor, a detector element pivoted to the spindle and having a detecting surface to engage the interior of a mass of weft carried by the spindle, and a contact member carried by and movable With the detector element, suflicient weft engaging the detector element to hold the Contact member out of engagement with the electrodes, said contact member movable at exhaustion of weft to electrically connect said electrodes by direct engagement therewith.

4. In a loom, a shuttle, a pair of oppositely charged electric detector electrodes to be connected to effect a change in loom operation,`a spindle having a tip, a pivotal connection between the spindle and the shuttle, a detector element pivoted to the spindle between the tip terior of the mass of weft to hold said contact member on the detectorelement extending to a position over the pivotal connection, a detecting surface for the element to engage the interior of the mass of welt to hold said contact member in a relatively low position, and yielding means effective to move the contact member into direct engagement With the Aelectrodes at exhaustion of weft to electrically connect said electrodes.

V5. In a loom, a shuttle having a supply of weft, a pair of oppositely charged electric detector electrodes tobe connected 'to effecta change in loom operation, a shuttle carried contact member for the electrodes held out of c'ontacting relation with the electrodes when sufficient weft is present and movable relatively to the shuttle upon exhaustion of weft to a position to electrically connect said electrodes by direct engagement therewith, the electrodes movable toward the contact member, and means to limit movement of one of the electrodes toward the contact plate.

6. In a loom, a shuttle having a vsupply of weft, a pair of oppositely charged electric detector electrodes to be connected electrically to effect a change in loom operation, a contact member for the electrodes held out of contacting relationwith the electrodes when vsufficient weft is present and movable relatively to the shuttle upon exhaustion of weft v to a position to electrically connect said electrodes, and means carried by one of the electrodes to engage the shuttle to limit movement of said electrode toward the member.

7. In a loom, a shuttle having a supply of weft, a pair of oppositely charged electric detector elements to be connected electrically to effect a change in the operation of the loom, a contact member for the elements held out of contacting relation with the elements when sufficient weft is present and movable relatively to the shuttle upon exhaustion of weft to a position to electrically connect said elements, said contact member being the only current carrying part permanently connected to the shuttle, and the electrodes positioned to engage the contact member at points spaced transversely of the shuttle.

8. In weft detecting mechanism for a loom operating with a shuttle having an electric current conducting plate, a pair of rolls of -opposite electric polarity, an insulating support for said rolls, means to mount said support to position the rolls over the plate When the shuttle is boxed, and means defining vertical guides for lthe insulating support whereby the rolls have limited vertical movement under impact of a misplaced shuttle.

9. In weft detecting mechanism for a loom operating with a shuttle having an electric current conducting plate, a shuttle box including a box top, a pair of detector rolls of opposite electric polarity, and means to support the rolls with respect to the box top to position said rolls for engagement with the plate on the shuttle when the latter is in the' box.

10. In weft detecting mechanism for a loom operating with a shuttle `having an electric current conducting plate, a `shuttle box including a box top, a pair of detector rolls of opposite electric polarity, means to support the rolls With. respect to the l box top to position said rolls for engagement with the plate on the shuttle when the latter is in the box, and means to provide for mounting the rolls in a plurality of positions longitudinally of the length of the box to effect registry of the rolls with respect to said plate for different positions of the shuttle in the box.

11. In weft detecting mechanism for a loom operating with a shuttle having an electric current conducting plate, a shuttle box including a box top, a pair of insulated rolls of opposite electric polarity, means to support the rolls with respect to the box top to position said rolls for engagement with the plate on the shuttle when the latter is in the box, and a pair of brushes supported by the box top for the rolls.

l2. In weft detecting mechanism for a loom operating with a shuttle having an electric current conducting plate, said shuttle having a slot extending longitudinally thereof in registry with the plate, and a pair of insulated rolls of opposite electric polarity mounted to have portions thereof enter the slot to be positioned for engagement With the plate when exhaustion is to be indicated.

13. In weft detecting mechanism for a loom having a shuttle box to receive a shuttle having a plate of electric conducting material, a pair of roller contacts mounted on the top of the box to have engagement with the plate when indication of exhaustion is to be given, and apicker to move the shuttle out of the box movable under the rolls.

RICHARD GREENLEAF TURNER. 

